Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas close to £35 million move to European champions Barcelona

Barcelona and Arsenal were locked in talks on Wednesday over Cesc Fabregas,
with the European champions increasingly confident they can agree a deal
worth around £35 million, while Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy could both be
heading out of the Emirates up to Manchester.

Transfer saga: Cesc Fabregas has been linked with Barca for last two yearsPhoto: AFP

Although a new Fabregas bid was not formally tabled, Barcelona were back in contact with Arsenal following their rejection last week of a £27 million offer. The talks on Wedneday were understood to be productive and, while there remains some difference in the valuations, there is a mounting sense that this most protracted transfer saga is finally nearing an end. Barcelona have increased their valuation of Fabregas to almost £35 million, with Arsenal believed to be holding out for a deal that, with add-ons, they can present to their fans as more like £40 million.

Significantly, Arsenal have adopted a very different strategy with Barcelona to last summer, when they would not entertain any form of talks. They also quickly issued a public statement to make it clear that their captain was not for sale. Arsenal’s engagement in private correspondence this summer suggests an acceptance that they will not block Fabregas’s departure as long as there is an acceptable offer. From a PR perspective, it would also be helpful for them to clinch one or more of their own transfer targets — they have made significant progress on Gervinho, Gary Cahill and Ricardo Alvarez — before any announcement on Fabregas.

Fabregas is currently in Spain and said he was “calm” when asked on Wedneday about his future. “If a player is on the market it is because a club doesn’t want you”, he said

Nasri and Clichy could also be following Fabregas out of the Emirates. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that a £20 million bid could be enough to lure Nasri. Despite Arsène Wenger’s insistence earlier this month that, “one thing’s for sure: we’re not selling him [Nasri] to Manchester United”, Ferguson has become encouraged by his chances of landing the French international.

With the player refusing to commit to a new contract, Arsenal risk losing the 24 year-old for nothing when his deal expires next summer. United have been informed that Nasri is prepared to leave for Old Trafford. Yet Wenger’s resistance to selling one of his best players to United, particularly if it coincides with the loss of Fabregas, is likely to provide a formidable obstacle to Ferguson.

Talks involving third parties linked to United and Nasri took place earlier this month and senior figures at Old Trafford believe the economics of the deal, with Arsenal standing to receive a substantial fee for a player entering the final year of his contract, will ultimately prove decisive in their favour.

Manchester City are monitoring Nasri’s situation, with the player listed as a secondary target, but are ready to bid £7 million for defender Clichy .

United have taken their summer spending to £49.8 million by completing the £18.3 million signing of Atlético Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea. He is set to make his debut against Seattle Sounders on July 20.

United chief executive David Gill has claimed that the punishment meted out to Ferguson and Wayne Rooney by the Football Association last season has added to the belief at Old Trafford that United are victims of disciplinary double standards.

“I genuinely believe there have been some poorish decisions that, in my opinion, wouldn’t necessarily have hit other clubs,” said Gill. “What better way to demonstrate the authorities are being tough than by hitting one of the biggest clubs the hardest?”